The Case for Haitian Immigrant Amnesty

The United States is searching for ways to aid Haiti's recovery from the disastrous earthquake. One of the best solutions, many argue, is helping the large population of Haitian
migrants here in the U.S. Specifically, they are calling for Temporary
Protected Status (TPS) to be granted to the tens of thousands of
Haitians estimated to be here illegally. The measure, which allows
migrants from disaster-struck nations to stay for several months, is
currently available for Sudanese, Somalian and other foreign visitors.

Proponents say that the measure would benefit Haiti by reducing the
number of returning migrants, who would be an additional strain on
Haiti's severely weakened civil society, and by increasing the
remittances migrant workers would likely send home. The U.S. has
already announced it would temporarily halt the planned deportations of
30,000 Haitians. Should it go this step further?

The Bipartisan TPS Push National Journal's David Gauvey Herbert reports: "The aftershocks in Port-au-Prince hadn't yet died down Tuesday evening
when Florida Republican Reps. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Mario Diaz-Balart
and Lincoln Diaz-Balart released a statement pressing the White House
to grant Haiti TPS. On the Democratic side, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of
New York and Reps. Alcee Hastings and Kendrick Meek of Florida have
also taken to the airwaves and Internet to support granting TPS."
However, "the program has become a de facto amnesty program" and "might
result in a flood of refugees hoping to gain legal status."

The Economic Case for TPS The Miami Herald insists, "Give Haitians already here and in danger of being deported a chance to
remain in this country with the right to work."
This would allow Haitians here "to get a work permit and earn money so
they can send desperately needed dollars to relatives and friends in
Haiti." The Herald argues that the work permit, normally $340, should be available to Haitians for free.

Could Spur National Immigration Debate The Los Angeles Times's Johanna Neuman thinks so. "The Obama administration has said that it wants to review the issue of
the Haitians as part of a comprehensive approach to immigration reform.
Coming to the aid of the mostly Catholic country are some advocacy
groups with political punch, including the Catholic Church," she writes. "Mindful that immigration is a radioactive issue,
Florida politicians are already trying to sell the policy to the public
by arguing that the shift would actually help the U.S. economy."

Obama's Strange Past Opposition Think Progress's Andrea Nill lambastes Obama's pre-hurricane stand against TPS. "In March 2009, the Obama administration indicated that it would continue deporting
undocumented Haitians, 'despite appeals by the Haitian government,
which says deportations could destabilize a country where food, water
and housing have been in extremely short supply since major storms last
summer.' One month later, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton indicated
that the Obama administration hadn't granted Haitians TPS because 'we don't want to encourage other Haitians to make the dangerous journey across the water.'"

It Probably Won't Happen The Village Voice's Ward Harkavy isn't holding
his breath. "Some are probably criminals, but the vast majority
aren't," he writes of the Haitians here illegally. Harkavy predicts
that the deportation ban will shortly end and that TPS protections "are
not in the cards. Haitian activists have continually pressed for such
status -- way before the devilish earthquake -- because theirs is such a dangerous country."

News reports are focusing on the Germanwings pilot's possible depression, following a familiar script in the wake of mass killings. But the evidence shows violence is extremely rare among the mentally ill.